Smart Golf Club Shaft

ABSTRACT

A unique and innovative shaft for a golf club significantly enhances stability and shock absorption during golf swings. Taking advantage of the excellent flexibility, surface strength and shock absorption of a bamboo pole, the shaft is designed following the physical structure of the bamboo pole, thus helping facilitate vibration damping and absorption, stability during golf swings, supersymmetry and balance. The shaft comprises a plurality of connectors, each of which is a solid material and connects a plurality of links into an elongated member of the present invention. The plurality of connectors may be attached to the inside wall of the elongated member when designed as a tube. By varying the positions of connectors across the elongated member, the bamboo-inspired shaft can be configured to feature desired levels of flexibility and corrective/reversible torsion at one or more points on the shaft, thus help any golf player achieve substantial performance improvements.

The current application claims a priority to the U.S. Provisional Patentapplication Ser. No. 63/016,871 filed on Apr. 28, 2020.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to golf club shafts. Morespecifically, the present invention relates to a golf club shaft that isdesigned to provide stability and shock absorption during a golf swing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A golf club shaft that provides stability and shock absorption is indemand. Many golf players spend a great deal of time choosing the rightshaft for their golf clubs, hoping to optimize swing performance thusmaximizing their overall golf games.

The golf club shaft is an integral component of a golf club thatattaches to the clubhead on one end and to a grip on the other end.Generally, when the tip of the swing plane defined by the club shaftcoincides with the clubhead's center of gravity (CG), or the “sweetspot,” the golf ball can be hit farthest with greatest accuracy.However, because of variations in the design of golf clubs and in auser's skill and performance, the user does not always strike the golfball perfectly.

Golf club manufacturers have developed various shafts that are designedto provide better performance. However, it is difficult for ordinarygolfers/users to find a club with a shaft that is perfectly suited tothe individual player/user.

Lightweight shafts are available that not only have bending strength butare also resistant to breaking or twisting, thereby preventing a drop inthe ball's directionality due to twisting of the shaft. However,currently available shafts do not offer consistent stability, and mostdo not feature the shock absorption characteristics that have proven sobeneficial for golfers/users who have arthritis or tendonitis.Accordingly, there is a need to develop a golf club shaft designed toprovide stability and shock absorption while solving other relatedproblems.

The present invention is intended to address problems associated withand/or otherwise improve on conventional shafts through an innovativeshaft device that is designed to provide stability and shock absorptionwhile incorporating other problem-solving features.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention offers a unique and innovative shaft for a golfclub that significantly enhances stability and shock absorption duringgolf swings. Taking advantage of the excellent flexibility, surfacestrength and shock absorption of a natural bamboo pole, the shaft of thepresent invention is designed following the physical structure of thebamboo pole, thus helping facilitate unique features, including, but notlimited to, vibration damping and absorption, stability during golfswings, supersymmetry and balance, etc. The shaft of the presentinvention is made of alternative materials to those traditionally usedfor conventional golf clubs. These materials may be (for example)Titanium & Nickel to specific doses, and memory shape materials thatwill be reactive to human forces. These materials and the alternatesections designed in the shaft produce superelasticity, resulting in aninstant transformation from deformation to the initial shape of theshaft related to the external forces applied. The shaft comprises aplurality of connectors, each of which is a solid material and connectsa plurality of links into an elongated member of the present invention.The plurality of connectors may be attached to the inside wall of theelongated member when designed as a tube with or without an exteriortaper. By varying the positions of the plurality of connectors acrossthe elongated member, the bamboo-inspired shaft of the present inventioncan be configured to feature desired levels of flexibility andcorrective/reversible torsion at one or more points on the elongatedmember of the shaft, thus help any golf player and/or user achievesubstantial performance improvements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top view of the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of an alternative embodiment of the presentinvention with a tapered elongated member.

FIG. 3 is a left-side view of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a top view of another embodiment of the present invention,wherein a plurality of connectors is positioned inside the elongatedmember.

DETAIL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE INVENTION

All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of describingselected versions of the present invention and are not intended to limitthe scope of the present invention.

The present invention provides a unique and innovative shaft designedfor significant stability and shock absorption of a golf club duringgolf swings. The shaft of the present invention is made of alternativematerials to those traditionally used for conventional golf shafts. Theshaft is modeled after the pattern of a bamboo pole and shares somecharacteristics with such a pole that help facilitate unique features,including, but not limited to, vibration damping and absorption,stability during golf swings, super symmetry and balance, etc. Thesedesign features, in conjunction with specialist alternative materialssuch as Sorbathane, can absorb and dissipate the energy from impact,reducing forces required and further enhancing the shock absorptionproperties.

As can be seen in FIG. 1 to FIG. 4, the golf club shaft of the presentinvention comprises an elongated member 10 and an exterior hosel 30,which is not part of the present invention. The elongated member 10 canbe configured in such a way as to be attached to a golf club through thehosel 30 for connecting one end of the elongated member to a clubhead.The elongated member 10 can be of any suitable cross-sectional shape,including, but not limited to, circular.

As can be seen in FIG. 1 to FIG. 2, in the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention, the elongated member 10 comprises a plurality oflinks 11, a plurality of connectors 12, an exterior taper 14, a tip 15,and a grip end 16. The plurality of links 11 is interconnected by one ofthe plurality of connectors 12 to form the elongated member 10 thatcomprises physical characteristics and properties similar to those of abamboo pole. Additionally, each of the plurality of connectors 12comprises a solid material 21. The solid material 21 comprises varyingdensity and stiffness from interior to the exterior. As can be seen inFIG. 2, in one alternative embodiment, the elongated member 10 maycomprise the exterior taper 14. More specifically, the tip 15 isterminally positioned on the elongated member 10 and connected to a golfclubhead through the hosel 30. The grip end 16 is terminally positionedon the elongated member 10 opposite the tip 15, and the exterior taper14 along the entire length of the elongated member 10 is formed througha gradual outside diameter (OD) decrease from the grip end 16 to the tip15. The elongated member 10 may also be straight along the length, withparallel links of the plurality of links 11, which have parallel outersurfaces or may include a combination of such links. The length of theelongated member 10 is selected based on the desired length of the golfclub and the configuration of the hosel 30. Further, the elongatedmember 10 comprises a uniform three-dimensional mass distributioncentered along the center of gravity (COG) thereof. In some embodiments,the elongated member 10 may be designed based on a holographic principlewith periodic design. In other embodiments, the design of the shaft maycreate space memory and supersymmetry by activation of a center pressurepoint. This symmetric design ensures that the shaft will have accuratelinear momentum through the shaft's trajectory from launch to finish ofa golf swing. Even distribution of weight on all sides from the CGrelative to all axes of the shaft creates supersymmetry and balance,ensuring the precision of mass properties essential to linear momentum,thus maximizing the opportunity of the clubhead's returning to aposition perpendicular to the target line at impact and helping agolfer/user achieve an optimal swing result.

As can be seen in FIG. 3, in some embodiments of the present invention,the elongated member 10 of the shaft comprises a plurality of layers 13,and the plurality of layers 13 has a varying density and stiffness.Thus, the shaft can provide different levels of strength, stiffness,vibration absorption, and damping. Additionally, an inner layer of theplurality of layers of the elongated member 10 comprises a densitysmaller than that of outer layer of the plurality of layers 13. Further,the inner layers may be made of various materials having progressivehardness and stiffness, with the inner being softer than the outer, andthe degree of such variation can be determined by the impact and shockforces exerted on the shaft. The elongated member 10 can be made ofvarious materials, including, but not limited to, smart materials,memory shape materials, metal, or thermoplastic or combinations thereof.Alternatively, the elongated member 10 may be made of a mono-, duo-, ormulti-material that may include, but is not limited to, nickel, copper,silver, and titanium, etc.

As can be seen in FIG. 1 to FIG. 2, the plurality of links 11 of theelongated member 10 comprises a hollow tube that may be spaced atsubstantially equal distances throughout the length of the elongatedmember 10 to provide longitudinal strength. In some embodiments of thepresent invention, each of the plurality of links 11 may comprise aconstant outside diameter. In some other embodiments, each of theplurality of links 11 comprises a constant length. In yet otherembodiments, each of the plurality of links 11 may comprise a varyinglength.

As can be seen in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 to FIG. 4, the plurality ofconnectors 12 comprises a cross-sectional area smaller than that of anadjacent link of the plurality of links 11. Each of the plurality ofconnectors 12, which provides substantial vibration-dampening function,is configured to connect or close off adjacent links of the plurality oflinks 11 of the shaft in a tubular form and is solid. Additionally, eachof the plurality of connectors 12 may be installed via various methods,including, but not limited to, screws, springs, and glue, or may beintegral and fixed in the manufacture of the shaft. The distance betweenthe connecting sections along the length of the elongated member 10 maybe of any desired length, including, but not limited to, equidistant. Insome embodiments of the present invention, both the plurality of links11 and plurality of connectors 12 comprise a material including, but notlimited to, smart material, memory shape material, thermoplastic, metal,composites, polymer, plastic, etc. Further, the elongated member 10 mayinclude a bamboo-inspired design that resembles a bamboo structure, andby varying the positions of the plurality of connectors 12 across theelongated member 10, the shaft can be configured to feature desiredlevels of flexibility and corrective/reversible torsion at one or morepoints on the elongated member 10 of the shaft.

As can be seen in FIG. 4, in an alternative embodiment of the presentinvention, the elongated member 10 may be a tube, which may or may nothave a taper 14. More specifically, the elongated member 10 comprises aplurality of connectors 12. Each of the plurality of connectors 12comprises a solid material 21, which comprises varying density andstiffness from interior to the exterior. Additionally, the plurality ofconnectors 12 is positioned inside the elongated member 10 and isattached to the inner wall of the tube of the elongated member 10.Further, the distance between an arbitrary connector of the plurality ofconnectors 12 and an adjacent connector 12 may include, but is notlimited to, a constant value, and/or varying value.

Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferredembodiment, it is to be understood that many other possiblemodifications and variations can be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:
 1. A shaft for golf clubs to provide stability andshock absorption during golf swings comprising: an elongated member; theelongated member comprising a plurality of links and a plurality ofconnectors; each of the plurality of connectors comprising a solidmaterial; the solid material comprising varying density and stiffnessfrom interior to the exterior; and the plurality of links beinginterconnected by one of the plurality of connectors.
 2. The shaft forgolf clubs to provide stability and shock absorption during golf swingsas claimed in claim 1, wherein the elongated member comprises anexterior taper.
 3. The shaft for golf clubs to provide stability andshock absorption during golf swings as claimed in claim 2 comprising:the elongated member comprising a tip and a grip end; the tip beingterminally positioned on the elongated member; the tip being connectedto a golf clubhead through a hosel; the grip end being terminallypositioned on the elongated member opposite the tip; and the exteriortaper being formed through a gradual outside diameter (OD) decrease fromthe grip end to the tip.
 4. The shaft for golf clubs to providestability and shock absorption during golf swings as claimed in claim 1comprising: the elongated member comprising a plurality of layers; andthe plurality of layers comprising a varying density and stiffness. 5.The shaft for golf clubs to provide stability and shock absorptionduring golf swings as claimed in claim 4, wherein an inner layer of theplurality of layers of the elongated member comprises a density smallerthan that of outer layer of the plurality of layers.
 6. The shaft forgolf clubs to provide stability and shock absorption during golf swingsas claimed in claim 1, wherein the elongated member comprises a uniformthree-dimensional mass distribution centered along the center of gravity(COG) thereof.
 7. The shaft for golf clubs to provide stability andshock absorption during golf swings as claimed in claim 1, wherein eachof the plurality of links comprises a hollow tube.
 8. The shaft for golfclubs to provide stability and shock absorption during golf swings asclaimed in claim 7, wherein each of the plurality of links comprises aconstant outside diameter.
 9. The shaft for golf clubs to providestability and shock absorption during golf swings as claimed in claim 1,wherein each of the plurality of links comprises a constant length. 10.The shaft for golf clubs to provide stability and shock absorptionduring golf swings as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the pluralityof links comprises a varying length.
 11. The shaft for golf clubs toprovide stability and shock absorption during golf swings as claimed inclaim 1, wherein each of the plurality of connectors comprises across-sectional area smaller than that of an adjacent link of theplurality of links.
 12. The shaft for golf clubs to provide stabilityand shock absorption during golf swings as claimed in claim 1, whereinboth the plurality of links and plurality of connectors comprise a smartmaterial.
 13. The shaft for golf clubs to provide stability and shockabsorption during golf swings as claimed in claim 1, wherein both theplurality of links and plurality of connectors comprise a memory shapematerial.
 14. The shaft for golf clubs to provide stability and shockabsorption during golf swings as claimed in claim 1, wherein both theplurality of links and plurality of connectors comprise a thermoplastic.15. A shaft for golf clubs to provide stability and shock absorptionduring golf swings comprising: an elongated member; the elongated memberbeing a tube; the elongated member comprising a plurality of connectors;each of the plurality of connectors comprising a solid material; thesolid material comprising varying density and stiffness from interior tothe exterior; the plurality of connectors being positioned inside theelongated member; and each of the plurality of connectors being attachedto the inner wall of the tube of the elongated member.
 16. The shaft forgolf clubs to provide stability and shock absorption during golf swingsas claimed in claim 15, wherein the distance between an arbitraryconnector of the plurality of connectors and an adjacent connector has aconstant value.
 17. The shaft for golf clubs to provide stability andshock absorption during golf swings as claimed in claim 15, wherein thedistance between an arbitrary connector of the plurality of connectorsand an adjacent connector has a varying value.